


Worlds Colliding

by lollzie



Category: Mortal Instruments Series - Cassandra Clare, Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Canon Compliant, Flashbacks, M/M, Major character death - Freeform, Multiverse Theory, Parallel world, Until s1ep13, alternate universe alec, well kinda, you'll have to read to see what I mean
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-08
Updated: 2016-04-11
Packaged: 2018-06-01 01:02:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 19,032
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6494695
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lollzie/pseuds/lollzie
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>There are hundreds, no thousands of parallel worlds out there. We've already seen one but unfortunately not all are as jovial; many contain a powerful evil, a great darkness. Alec Lightwood has come up against one of these darknesses many a time and is determined to stop him once and for all, but to do so he must travel to another world where everything is oh so different. Will these pleasures and temptations lead him astray or will the young warrior be able to stay strong and do what it takes to win the war.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This story is canon compliant up until the episode 13, and is set the day after the wedding. Everything that happened in the show happens here.

By definition, a parallel world is a self-contained separate reality that co-exists alongside one’s own. The differences between one land and the next may be vast, more than one universe has no concept of the laws of physics for example, but there are many, thousands of worlds even that are practically identical to our own.  
They have all the same people, who know each other like they do in our world but there is one little difference. One small change between our world and the next that can change the whole game, you may know it as the butterfly effect, and boy is it real.

Wars have arisen in one world and not in the other just because of an extra shot of coffee being mistakenly given.

But this isn’t the story about an extra shot of coffee, no this change is slightly more… significant. This is about the birth of a warlock who never was in ours. This is about the warlock who grew to be feared, who had destruction and death follow him in his path, the evil of all evils as some would say, cowering as he destroyed village, town and city like they were made out of paper.

And this is about one man’s journey to do everything he could to end this destruction and save his world, even if it meant doing the unthinkable and crossing over to a whole new reality.

}}}}}}}}}

Breaths hitched as they entered the abandoned building, the small group of three slowly making their way into the main body, a hall which back in its prime surely had been magnificent. But it hadn’t been that way in years; inches of dust were coated on every surface, plaster from the walls was slowly starting to crumble and nearly every pale, marble tile underfoot was cracked, blood staining the cement underneath to remind whoever passed through what had occurred in this very spot.

But what was more disconcerting, Alec couldn’t help but think, clenching the fist holding his blade even tighter, was the suffocating silence. Not even four hours ago there had been a report of an attack come through on the radio, the demons that roamed the streets had come across a small group hiding in the building just across the street. They had killed everyone but a small werewolf, sparing her to send a message to everyone else about their power, about what destruction and pain they could and would cause. Just a few hours ago the silence had been broken with screams and cries and now there was nothing. It made Alec sick just to think about it.

“Over here,” one of his partners hissed, pulling a desk away from the wall to reveal the very markings that they had been told about. “This is it.” Both Alec and the other member of the team came over, inspecting the design though they both knew it was the right one.  
“Are you sure about this?” the one who had found the marking asked when Alec removed a small pendant from his pocket, brushing a stray red lock from her face as she did.

“This needs to be done if we have any chance of winning and defeating him.”

“But it could be me,” she protested, eyes flashing desperately. “You heard Victoria, it could be either of us who does this, we both have the connection.”

“You think for one second I’d let you do this, I didn’t take you for stupid Clary. No you’re staying here, you have too much to lose in this world-”

“So do you!”

“I really don’t,” Alec said with a small smile, he couldn’t help but respect the younger girl for trying to argue a fruitless cause. “Everything I loved I lost years ago and we both know it. I’ll never get any of them back, no matter how much I wish but at least I can do this to prevent anyone else suffering the same as me. You still have your father, Valentine would do anything for you, and I think he’d disembowel me if I let you go through the portal.”

“Dad’s always been far too overprotective,” Clary rolled her eyes, though she didn’t argue Alec’s point.

“He has good reason too, especially after he lost your mother and… him,” Alec didn’t need to remind the younger girl about what had happened, her face said it all.

“So have we got over this little domestic now or do you two want to keep going?” the third member of their party asked after a moment of silence had passed, looking over his shoulder warily, though with good reason, demons could appear at any moment.

“Let’s get this done,” Alec nodded, placing the pendant around his neck and facing the markings, which with the help of the seelie by his side, would open up to a portal.

“Now you must remember Alec, when you enter the other world you’ll be taking over the body of the Alec. He won’t be completely dormant though, and if you lose control, if you give into the pleasures of that world you could be lost forever. You must remain vigilant.”

“Meliorn we’ve been over this hundreds of times, I know the risks.”

“You wouldn’t be the first person to lose themselves to their alternate lives,” Meliorn said gravely, unable to hold in the grim smile as Alec’s jaw clenched slightly at his words, eyes steely. His defiance and determination were truly admirable. “Now when you enter that world you won’t have any of your weapons with you, though if Victoria’s magic has worked correctly the pendant should be with you still. As I cannot keep this portal open when you get the crevit you must use the pendant to return back to this land. You cannot be too long, Elias’ spies are everywhere, who knows how long it will be before he realises what we are doing.”

“I’ll be back before you know it,” Alec promised, squeezing Clary’s hand tightly as Meliorn worked on opening the portal. Within seconds a glowing emitted from the runes, before the wall crumbled away all together. Without saying another word, for he feared if he did he wouldn’t be able to leave, Alec let go of the redhead’s hand and walked forward, not stopping as the magic from the portal enveloped him, taking him away from his universe completely.

Seconds later Meliorn closed the pathway, enveloping Clary in a hug as she tried to desperately hold back the tears. “There there my child, Alec will be okay. He is a fighter and something as small as an alternate world won’t stop that anytime soon. We must get back to the institute though, it’s going to get dark soon and these streets are unsafe as it is.”

With a watery smile Clary pulled away, unsheathing her blade as she and her partner left the abandoned building, hope flickering away inside of them for the first time in a long time, because they knew that if Alec succeeded on his mission then they had a real chance of ending it all. At winning the war and defeating Elias Toran, the warlock who had destroyed everything.

}}}}}}}

For a moment, when he was still between sleep and actually being awake Alec forgot all about the mission. For just a second he forgot where he was supposed to be, stretching out as the drowsiness slowly started to clear. But then he remembered going through the portal and then the darkness, and Alec shot upright, wide awake.

For a second he didn’t think it had worked. Something had gone wrong with Meliorn’s magic, or the portal hadn’t been activated correctly because this was definitely his room. It was as bare as his too, with few personal touches indicating that someone actually lived here, but on closer inspection Alec noted the differences, convincing him that somehow this whole convoluted plot had succeeded.

A well-tailored suit was hanging up by the wall, and even from his bed the young shadowhunter could tell it cost more than his whole wardrobe combined back home. Hell, that was probably just the white jacket.

A laptop that would never have survived in his life was sat perfectly in the middle of the desk and beside it there was a framed photo that had certainly never occupied the space before. Alec got out of bed as quickly as he could, picking it up with shaking hands once he saw who was in frame. The picture was at least a couple of years old going by how much younger he looked in it, though the easy-going look in his eyes wasn’t one Alec had seen in much longer.

It was a candid shot, though he didn’t recognise where from, but that was the least of his concerns, instead his focus was solely on who was in the picture. Him, Izzy and… was that Jace Wayland? The three were sat around a picnic table, their laughter and joy forever immortalised in this single snap. Alec couldn’t remember ever feeling that sort of happiness, and he couldn’t stop the confused frown from forming whenever he looked at Jace. He was obviously close to the blonde in this universe, otherwise he’d never have saved this photo, but it was weird to imagine, when at best, they were merely acquaintances in his world. Alec didn’t spend long focusing on that little mystery, it’d surely be answered for him in no time at all, but he was unable to take his eyes off the figure in the middle, Isabelle. The longer he stared the more his heart broke, and with resignation Alec placed the photo, frame face down on the desk.

He didn’t have time to wallow, he wasn’t here for that. He had a job to do and by the Angel, he was going to make sure he did it. Alec, who had been fearing the worst after seeing the suit, couldn’t help but breath a sigh of relief when he opened his closet door to see it was as sparse and as simple as his own was, and with little thought grabbed the nearest jeans and top.

As he got changed Alec caught his reflection in the mirror, freezing before he’d had chance to pull his shirt on. He knew that strictly speaking this wasn’t his body, but when it was identical in every way that was hard to remember. But this, this told Alec that he really was in another version of himself.

Like himself this version of him had scars littering his body, no doubt from countless fights that came from being a shadowhunter, but there was significantly less than Alec had become accustomed to, and he mindlessly found himself touching the now unmarred skin curiously, surprised by how soft it was. The biggest difference was, was how few runes he had. Where was his agility? Accuracy? Clarity? Fireproofness? Power? They and more were all gone, and Alec was surprised by how lost he felt without them all. How weak.

Shaking himself out of his thoughts, he shrugged his shirt on and with as little thought as possible he made his way out of his room, taking the familiar route to the main body of the institute, not allowing himself to stop or even slow, knowing if he did he’d hide away for as long as possible.

The first thing he couldn’t help but note was just how busy the hall was. In his world there would be around a dozen others working at a time at most, but this was on a whole other level, this was like when the war had first started, when there had been actual fighters.

He couldn’t help but note that everyone was also a shadowhunter, a noteworthy fact in itself. The young nephilim couldn’t even remember the last time he had been in a room of solely his race, well used to being surrounded by every type of downworlder under the sun.

But he couldn’t focus on that now, he needed to get to the crevit, and if Victoria had said this version of him had a connection to it, it must mean that it was somewhere in this building. As he walked the hairs on the back of his neck started to rise and Alec became painfully aware that the eyes of nearly everyone was following him. What had this version of him done? Because there was no way he’d be getting these looks on an average day.

“So you’ve decided to grace us with your presence,” a familiar voice said coldly, Alec almost got whiplash he turned so quickly.

“Mom,” he managed to choke out. Maryse Lightwood appeared to ne equally as formidable in this world as she was in his, the determined look that promised she’d never give up the fight had only faded to nothing in her death. His parents were ones of the first to fall when Elias started to widen his attacks, making an example of their powerful positions. He hadn’t seen either her or his father in close to twelve years, and the emotions he was experiencing because of it were unexpected.

He’d thought he managed to compartmentalise his grief and pain, it was a necessary requirement when everyday you lost more people you loved, but getting to see his mother again, getting to lay his eyes on her and drink her in was just enough to let the walls start crumbling. No! He couldn’t let this happen, he couldn’t let his emotions get the better of him, he was here to do a job, not to bond with another man’s family.

“In all my years,” Maryse started, shaking her head in disgust, and Alec had to work hard to suppress a smile. Who’d have thought he’d have missed being told off so much? Though going by the way his mom was looking at him, his alternate-self had seemingly done something pretty serious, which would explain all the stares being sent his way. “Calling off the wedding would have been bad enough, but to do that.”

Wait he had been getting married? Well that explained the suit in his room. Alec couldn’t help but wonder who his fiancé was. It was a laughable idea thinking about marriage in his world, sure some people liked to do it, try to regain some sense of normality back into their lives, but Alec had never seen the point. Had never found anyone to commit to like that. But then again, if he’d called the wedding off the relationship was obviously not that strong.

He wondered if this mystery fiancé was anywhere about and couldn’t help but subtly turn his head in case he saw anyone looking particularly pissed off or upset, though everyone had now turned back to their work, giving him no clues.

Realising Maryse had continued with her spiel Alec forced himself to start listening again, hoping she hadn’t noticed his momentary lapse of concentration, despite the obvious change in subject.

“And the nerve of that warlock. Magnus Bane better have his guard up if he ever comes back here I’m telling you.”

At the name of the warlock, well-known even in his world, Alec felt himself tensing, trying desperately to keep his face neutral, though he was unsure how well he did. He’d never managed to hide his resentment for the man before, though then again Maryse didn’t seem to notice.

“I think he gets the picture Mom,” a voice said from behind him, and by the Angel, if Alec had thought coming face to face with Maryse was bad, this was ten times worse. Blood pounding in his ears and stomach churning, Alec slowly turned, regretting more and more into agreeing to this stupid plan.

“Isabelle.”

_“So brother dear,” Isabelle cooed, trusty whip in one hand. “We meet again. Though you don’t seem surprised”_

_Alec stood tall and proud where he was, his grip around his seraph blade tightening. “Wherever there’s meaningless death I’ve always come to expect you.” Izzy laughed mockingly at Alec’s words when he motioned to the dozens of bodies on the ground below, her lips curling into a cruel sneer._

_“Oh but Alec, it’s so much fun,” Izzy laughed again, raising her hand to crack her whip. Alec jumped out of the way without a second to spare as it hit the ground, the force of the weapon actually leaving a dent underfoot._

_Isabelle went in for another attack and Alec managed to bring his blade up, desperately defending himself._

_“You know, although my whip has to be my most favourite of toys, for you brother dear I just love to get up close and personal.” Like her brother, Izzy unsheathed her blade, the whip wrapping itself around her wrist. The two siblings fought relentlessly, trading blow for blow, neither willing to back down, to lose against the other._

_They were fairly evenly matched, having been trained together for most of their lives, learning the same tricks, but sometimes one would pull something new out of the bag, leaving the other stumbling. Izzy feigned left, and whilst Alec went to go to protect that side she struck the other, slamming into him  with the force no-one her size should possess._

_Alec was flung to the side, crashing through a nearby display cabinet, the glass shredding his exposed skin. Isabelle laughed with glee at the fallen warrior and rushed forwards, her sword raised to end it all. Before she could deliver the final devastating blow Alec reached forward, pulling on one of his sister’s ankles with force. She fell ungracefully, face twisting with rage as she realised what he had done._

_Not giving her a chance to recover, Alec pushed himself forward till he was over Isabelle, both hands round her neck as she scrabbled desperately, trying to catch a breath though he was unrelenting._

_A sharp pain erupted in his stomach and without thought he lessened his grip, giving chance for the younger nepihlim to scrabble free. His hand pressed onto his stomach and came away bloody, and as he looked up Isabelle was standing over him, twirling the bloody dagger in her hand._

_“You’re getting ruthless dear brother, it’s quite unbecoming. But as fun as this has been time’s ticking and I really must be off. Have fun getting help with that, this blade is particularly nasty you see, the way it’s been designed means that your insides get nicely shredded as it’s removed. I wouldn’t say you have hours left.”_

Not for the first time Alec had wondered why his sister hadn’t ended it then and there. But he guessed that was how it was between. They’d come so close to killing the other more times than once but had never completed the job.

Alec knew that for him, it was because deep down he still loved his little sister, even after all these years and fights, and seeing all the twisted things she had done. He knew he would never be able to live with killing her.

He suspected the reasoning wasn’t the same for Isabelle though. No, deep down he knew it was because she loved the game too much, he was her favourite plaything and why would she want to give that up?

“Mom will get over it you know,” Isabelle said as the pair left Maryse, and towards… well Alec didn’t really know where to, or more importantly who to. Every instinct inside of him screamed to get out of there, he hadn’t been able to trust his sister for longer than he cared to remember, and to be so close to her, to not have a weapon pulled out and trained on her made his skin crawl.

But this wasn’t the Isabelle he had come to know, this was another world where the two actually got to be proper brother and sister. This wasn’t the girl who had tried to kill him more times than he could count, or who had tortured him relentlessly until the rebellion had come to rescue him, but knowing this didn’t make it any harder to relax.

“She’ll get over it in a few days, just give her space. It’s just worse because she’s just freaking out about what happened to Lydia, though –“

“Lydia?” Alec asked, the all too familiar feeling of nausea hitting him. If this was how he was going to feel after hearing every unexpected name Alec was going to be an emotional wreck in mere minutes. He itched to go find the blonde, to see for himself that she was really here. That she was…

“She’s going to be fine Alec,” Izzy said sincerely, placing a hand on his shoulder. It was meant to be a comforting action, but before he could think Alec had harshly shrugged her off, fighting the urge to harm her. Not even the hurt expression on her face could make him feel bad, it had been a long time since he had felt that for hurting his baby sister.

Izzy blinked back the hurt, acting like she hadn’t noticed what had just happened. “She woke up this morning, though the infirmary want to keep her in for a bit longer. She says she doesn’t know who attacked her or stole the cup though so we’re trying to go through the video footage to try and get an idea.”  
“Can I go see her?” It felt weird asking Izzy anything but she appeared to have the answers that he did not.

“They’re not letting anyone in at the moment, they want her to make a full recovery. Apparently she’s still really weak, even with the help of runes.”  
  
_“According to our sources the book of the white should be somewhere here,” Alec spoke into the microphone, looking at the screen as he saw the trackers that represented the team enter the directed building._  
  
“Can you imagine if we get this,” Mallory, one of the newest members of the resistance excitedly whispered into her comms. “It’ll change everything.”  
  
“Don’t get too excited, we haven’t got it yet,” Alec reminded her. He had been at this too long to let his feelings get the better of him each time a new lead arose. Because yes, the book of the white could change it all, it could help them overthrow Elias once and for all, but in his experience, it was never good to rely on these objects until you had the thing firmly in your possession.  
  
“Mallory is correct let us not forget that,” a smooth voice from his left said. Magnus Bane raised his eyebrow when Alec shot him a look, daring him to say more. Turning back to the screen he was unable to hold back the smile that nowadays, only few people could elicit.  
  
“Yeah Alec, don’t be such a buzzkill,” Lydia teased. “You never used to be such a downer, we really need to get you laid, that’ll chill you right out.”  
  
“Focus on the mission,” he said sharply, hoping the warlock beside him hadn’t noticed just how red his cheeks were sure to have gotten whilst the others laughed down the line. “Can you see anything?”  
  
“Not yet. Someone help me with this door,” Lydia replied, grunting as she opened the passageway. “It all looks deserted, like they all… by the Angel!”  
  
Screams filled the lines, Alec and Magnus helpless to do anything but listen.  
  
“Lydia? Lydia can you hear me? Mallory? Sid?”  
  
“We’ve been ambushed,” Lydia whispered raggedly. Even though he couldn’t see Alec could tell she was gravely injured, trying to hide it desperately. “The information was false, we’re like lambs to the slaughter.”  
  
“Can you get out of there? We’ll send someone! Lydia!”  
  
The last sound Alec heard over the comms was the unmistakeable noise of a sword piercing flesh and the ragged, gurgling breaths of his best friend before silence took over.   
__  
Isabelle didn’t lead him far, barely to the other side of the room, though when he saw who was typing frantically into one of the nearest computers Alec could have almost cried with relief.  
  
Clary Morgenstern was as, if not more beautiful than she was in his world. She was identical to his version in so many ways, but different at the same time. Her hair was much longer here, the same length it had been when they had met so many years ago. She had cut it a few months after joining the rebellion, claiming that it got in the way as she fought, but as she hacked away at it Alec couldn’t help but suspect it was because it reminded her so much of her recently deceased mother. He couldn’t say the length didn’t suit her, it seemed to soften her overall appearance, though Alec wasn’t sure whether that was because she was obviously so much less war-hardened in this world. Even children didn’t possess the innocence that was shining in Clary’s eyes.  
  
Next to her stood Jace Wayland and Alec couldn’t help but stare, praying that if he did he’d gain some enlightenment as to why he was so important to this version of him. The blonde was doing nothing, seemingly in his own world as the others worked around him. It took all of Alec’s self-restraint to prevent him from rolling his eyes, trust Wayland to not be pulling his weight, apparently some things never changed.  
  
_“Who’s the kid?” A fifteen year old Alec asked Valentine as he made his way down the stairs into the main body of the institute, motioning to a blonde boy who was sat on the side, huddled in on himself._  
  
“That kid _is four months younger than you,” Valentine said with an eye-roll, unable to hide his amused smile. “His name’s Jace Wayland, he was in a small group coming in from Philadelphia. It’s been under a series of attacks recently and they heard that the institute was the safest place but they got attacked on the outskirts of Brooklyn. Poor kid was the only survivor, some of our recon team were passing by and managed to save him. He’ll stay here for a while and we’ll see about getting him trained up.”_  
  
“I’ll give him two weeks,” Alec said in a blasé tone, not caring when Jase looked up at his words, eyes flashing furiously.  
  
Moving to a free computer Alec opened up the familiar programme, thanking every known deity that the same manufacturer had seemingly made this institute’s computers, even if most other details were different. He had little interest in who stole this cup, and although his blood boiled at the thought of someone hurting Lydia that was not why he was here. He was here to get the crevit and stop Elias, but first thing first, he was going to do a little digging. Just how different was this world to his own?  
  
Well there was only one way to find out.  
  
With trepidation he typed the name Elias Toran into the database’s search engine, waiting with bated breath.  
  
**No results found.**  
  
Well that answered his question. There was just one difference, but a major one at that. Elias Toran had never been born, and without that, there was no war. But there wasn’t time to think about the unfairness of that all now, hopefully he’d be able to find the crevit using the search bar too and leave before the day was even up.  
  
“Who’s Elias Toran?” Jace asked from over Alec’s shoulder, getting way too close for his comfort. He could practically feel the blonde’s breath on his neck, and it made him want to shudder. “Do you think he had something to do with this?”  
  
“No-one, it’s nothing,” was all he said, quickly deleting the name before anyone else could see, though both Clary and Izzy were looking at him curiously. He bristled under the attention and turned to Jace, face flushing with frustration. “Why is it any of your business anyway?”  
  
“Alec calm down, Jace was just wondering if that Elias was a connection, we’re all trying to figure out who stole the cup and attacked Lydia remember,” Izzy said, clearly trying to mediate the situation.  
  
“Guys I’ve got something,” Clary interrupted before Alec could say anything else, watching the screen with wide, disbelieving eyes. “It was Hodge, he stole the cup for Valentine. He’s the traitor!”  
  
As the others rushed to Clary’s computer, all just as disbelieving as her, Alec felt himself unable to move. Valentine? Clary’s own father was who they were fighting against. He didn’t think it was possible, he had known that man for his whole life and there were few people he trusted more. What had happened in this universe for Valentine to turn against them? For Clary to turn against the man she looked up to and loved more than anything.  
  
This was just another change, he told himself. So much was different in these two worlds, should this really be that surprising? But deep down Alec had been holding on hope of catching sight of the older man. He had basically been his father for years now, and even if this version of him had no clue who he really was, Alec knew it’d have given him the strength to carry on if times had gotten hard. Apparently that thought was now clean out of the window.

}}}}

  
“His room’s been cleared out but they did find this,” Jace said, holding up a battered leather jacket nearly half an hour later when the whole institute had been informed of the trainer’s betrayal. “We’ll be able to track him with this and from there we’ll find Valentine and get the cup back.”  
  
Closing his eyes Jace’s hands started pulsing, desperately trying to locate the older man whilst the others waited. If Alec could have laughed he would have, who would have thought that Jace Wayland would be able to pull off a locator spell. Whilst they had rarely trained together, Alec had seen enough times to know that the younger man wasn’t a born fighter, doubting his skills each and every time, subsequently (and quite ironically) making them worse. He didn’t have the confidence that this Jace did, and Alec wasn’t sure if it was an improvement or not.  
  
“It’s not working, the connection’s too weak.”  
  
Not saying another word, Jase held up his hand looking at Alec intensely. His uneasiness only grew as the others turned to stare too, their confusion almost rivalling his.  
  
“What are you waiting for Alec?” Clary asked, sharing a helpless look with Jace, who was starting to look more desperate with each passing second.  
  
_I’m waiting for someone to give me a bloody clue as to what you want me to do?_ Alec thought, though he knew very well that he couldn’t say that. If they found out he wasn’t the real Alec the circumstances could be dire. They could send him back to his world without the crevit and then all hope would be lost.  
“Please, my parabaati I need you to help me with this,” Jace pleaded, his eyes wide and looking more nervous than Alec had seen him for a while, though when the other shadowhunter’s words hit him he quickly stopped focusing on how uneasy Wayland looked.  
  
Parabatai? They were each other’s parabatai? Alec wanted to laugh at the ridiculousness of the whole situation, how was it even possible that this version of him had bonded to someone as vain as Jace Wayland? This couldn’t be real, this had to be some form of cosmic joke it just had to be. But Alec knew it wasn’t, he’d heard tales of how one little change could have massive impacts on different worlds, he just never would have thought that the non-existence of the most dangerous warlock to ever live would result in him becoming parabatai with Jace.  
  
He couldn’t leave though, he had to try and help with this because the sooner that this Hodge was found, the sooner he’d hopefully be left on his own to locate the crevit.  
  
Taking a wary step forward Alec lifted up his hand, noting for the first time the unfamiliar rune on his palm, the one that signified that the ultimate bond had been made. Making contact with Jace was weird, it wasn’t like he hadn’t noticed that the other man was attractive but the two were far from close in his world, in fact Alec found him more than a bit annoying, so to have him so far into his personal space, in a ritual as intimate as this one was more than a little unnerving.  
  
The power started to weakly pulse between them, and although he had never taken part in a parabatai ritual himself, and had only seen it a handful of times, Alec knew it wasn’t enough. The bond between him and Jace wasn’t strong enough, because there no longer was one.  
“Alec you need to focus,” Izzy said, looking frustrated at the boys struggle.  
  
“What do you think I’m doing?” he couldn’t help but snap, ignoring the hurt expression on his sister’s face.  
  
“I thought we’d moved past this?” Jace said lowly so no-one else could hear him. “Don’t tell me you’re shutting me out again.”  
  
Alec had no idea what Jace was going on about, but the practically heartbroken look in his eyes was more than enough to make him feel bad. It reminded him so much of the broken fifteen year old who had been taken to the institute, his whole life turned upside down forever, and in that moment Alec knew he needed to do something.  
  
“We have I promise,” he lied, having no idea what he was really promising. “I’m just a bit tired, you know after the past few days.”  
  
Apparently this was the right thing to say, and Jace relaxed minutely nodding his head. “We’re all here for you Alec you know that. Maryse and Robert too, they’ll just need time.”  
  
Even though Alec had no idea what his parabatai (and wasn’t that weird to think) was talking about, it seemed this version of him had done something pretty revolutionary, he’d never seen Jace look so sincere. Maybe when he returned back to his world he’d have to give the blonde more chances, there had to be a reason they were bonded after all.  
  
There was only one way to achieve that and get back though to his world, and that was by getting this parabatai bond to work, of which Alec could think of only one way. Taking a deep breath he forced his mind to become blank, welcoming the fuzziness that Victoria had warned him about. Distantly he could feel the other Alec rising, taking back control and activating the bond.  
  
“I’ve got him,” he heard Jace say, though it was like he was under water. He felt himself move forward, though each action was slow and sluggish and his limbs were moving in ways he wasn’t telling them too.  
  
Some part of him realised what was happening, he was fading and losing control, but the bliss was too much, it was overpowering and despite the severity Alec found himself unable to care. Why did it even matter?  
  
Images of Clary, Valentine, Meliorn and other members of his team flashed through his head, and it was like being plunged into a vat of ice water. With a gasp Alec re-gained control, feeling more alert than ever, his heart beating furiously in his chest as he realised what had almost happened. He’d almost lost complete control, trying to help these people, these practical strangers, and it had almost cost him everything. He couldn’t let that happen, he needed to succeed.  
  
“Woah Alec, are you okay?” Jace asked, looking worried as he grabbed his shoulder, stopping him from stumbling.  
  
“I’m fine, just leave it,” he snapped, harshly shrugging off the concerned hand and making his way to the weapons cabinet. “We should hurry, Hodge could leave the area at any moment.”  
  
The others followed him, all remaining silent though he could tell by the looks they were sharing that they were all confused and worried, but he couldn’t focus on that. He wasn’t here to blend in, he was here to save his world. As he went to reach for a blade that looked similar to his own, he was stopped by Izzy passing him a sleek bow and a set of arrows.  
  
So this version of him preferred to not be directly involved in the bloodshed? Alec knew plenty of people who did, who favoured the detachment that came from the arrows and there was nothing wrong with it, he just never would have thought that would be him. He could only hope that there was some form of muscle memory that kicked in during the fight, he couldn’t remember the last time he’d even picked up a bow, let alone fired from it.  
  
“You shouldn’t be so harsh on Jace,” Clary said as the small group made their way out of the institute, shrugging on her jacket to protect her from the cold breeze. “You know how much it’s messing with him ever since he found out Valentine was his father.”  
  
Alec made a choking noise, almost tripping over himself as Clary continued, seemingly unaware of how much he was freaking out. But that must mean… Jace was Valentine’s son in his world too? Holy shit.  
  
_“Is it weird to miss him?” Clary asked Alec as she lit a lone candle on her desk, gently stroking a picture frame stood next to it. “I mean, I can’t even say that I knew him, not really. I was only six months old when he was taken, I can’t even remember him.”_  
  
“It’s not weird,” Alec said softly, pulling the younger girl into a tight hug. “Jonathon was… is your family, that’s more important than anything.”  


_“He’d have been twenty one today,” Clary sniffed. “Finally legal to drink, though Dad says if he was anything like him that wouldn’t have stopped him from sneaking into clubs before now.”_  
  
Jonathon Christopher Morgenstern had been three years old when he had been taken from his family home. It was a move from the demons who worked with Elias, their boldest so far. Valentine and Jocelyn were some of their biggest opposers and after the young parents had wiped out a whole clan they had gotten the demons had been desperate for payback.  
  
Despite years of relentless searching and help from some of the most powerful warlocks Jonathon had never been found, but every year on his birthday Clary would light a single candle in his memory. Alec knew he was privileged to be privy to these moments, but he’d been through so much with the Morgenstern’s that he was basically a part of the family himself.  
  
He knew Clary needed the support too, the memory of his eldest child was too painful for Valentine, especially after the loss of Jocelyn five years ago, and he normally spent the day drowning in work and going on raid after raid.  
__  
“Jace is really scared that he’s meant to be evil, especially as it was Valentine who raised him for the first eleven years. We need to show him that that’s not true, _you_ need to give him a break Alec.”  
  
If it had been anyone else who had told this Alec knew he would have snapped, but this was Clary, one of his oldest friends and closest confidantes. She may not be the version he was used to, may be more innocent and slower to judge but it was still her, and Alec knew he’d do absolutely anything to protect her.  
“You’re right, I shouldn’t be so harsh” he conceded, arching a brow as the redhead almost tripped, forgetting to look where she was going.  
“You’re agreeing with me? I don’t think you’ve ever done that before.”  
  
Alec was quickly getting sick of all the twists and changes this world was throwing at him.

}}}}}}}

“Hodge!” Jace screamed with an animalistic rage, charging at his former teacher before the others could stop him. He drove his fist deep into Hodge’s face, the older man’s nose crunching and blood spewing.  
  
“So you found me,” he snarled, pushing himself off the wall he’d fallen onto, and pulling his trusty chakrams out as Jace roared before charging again, this time blade in his hand. “You think you can beat me? I taught you everything you know.”  
  
The nephilim didn’t respond, raising his seraph before swinging it quickly down. Hodge moved to defend himself, though lost one grip of one of his chakrams in the process.  
  
“We need to stop Jace,” Izzy said, as Hodge and Jace continued to fight. “He’ll never forgive himself if he kills Hodge, and boy is he on his way to doing just that.”  
  
“You and Clary subdue Jace, I’ll sort out Hodge,” Alec decided in an instant, taking command as he was so used to doin. He grabbed an arrow from his pack to load his bow.  
  
“Alec are you sure?” Izzy asked, her whip the ready. Alec felt himself shudder just looking at the thing.  
  
“Yes, now go.” Without another word, he pulled back the bowstring and fired. It was enough to distract the two men, whistling past both their heads but it hadn’t been where he’d been aiming for and Alec cursed. In his distracted state Izzy and Clary were able to restrain Jace despite his protesting, leaving Alec a clear run for Hodge. He didn’t trust his shooting skills to get the job done, moving so that close combat was necessary.  
  
“And _you_ really think you can beat me?” Hodge laughed. “I’ve been training you for even longer than Jace, and we both know you struggle to kill even a demon.”  
  
“I really wouldn’t bet on that,” Alec said coolly before lunging, using his bow to land a blow, instantly winding the shadowhunter. “Clary give me your seraph!”  
Luckily without question Clary threw her blade his way and he deftly caught it, instantly feeling more at home as he raised it with steady hands. The bow wasn’t his weapon of his choice, he had been on poor ground but now, well Hodge didn’t know what was coming for him.  
  
He parried blow for blow, knocking the other chakram away with ease, though like any good warrior Hodge had another weapon hidden, a blade not dissimilar to Alec’s own.  
  
Every move he made was calculated, for every attack Hodge made Alec had at three counters up his sleeve, he was able to read every intent the older man had, parrying back relentlessly and preventing him from getting any solid blows in. No-one in his world survived without being a good fighter, and Alec was one of the best.  
  
He took all his of fear, and his loss, and grief and his anger and he used it. Used it to give him strength as it turned into something more, into a fiery rage at the thought of the unfairness of it all, at the loss of life and the suffering.  
  
Hodge charged with a cry, dropping his sword as he slammed into Alec; both crashing into the ground, the older man having a clear advantage. He’d managed to pin Alec down, fist raised to punch him and end the fight, but Alec was too quick, he jerked and the older man ended up punching the floor below, screaming in agony as his hand shattered. His pain gave enough time for Alec to reach for the small dagger he’d brought with him, hidden from plain sight, and with no warning he reached up and swiped.  
  
Blood poured from Hodge’s face, a diagonal scar that ripped at the skin and his features. He rolled away screaming, and with horror, Clary, Isabelle and Jace realised that Alec had also caught one of his eyes, blood streaming relentlessly from the now useless socket.  
  
Alec lifted himself to his knees so it was now he who had the vantage point, he pulled his hand back, ready to deliver one final blow to his enemy but was stopped as the dagger was ripped away. Out of the corner of his eye he saw the familiar dark-haired figure who had laughed over him for so many years, who had tortured him and killed so many of his friends, smiling with sick glee every step of the way.  
  
Without thinking he lifted his leg, kicking Isabelle with as much force and precision as possible. She went flying, landing on the ground with an inelegant oomph. He moved towards her, eyes blazing. He was going to do it, he was finally going to end this relentless game of cat and mouse between them. He was finally going to kill his sister. There was no feeling of regret or sorrow, just absolution, Alec had waited for too long and he was determined to end it now.


	2. Chapter 2

_Previously_

_Without thinking Alec lifted his leg, kicking Isabelle with as much force and precision as possible. She went flying, landing on the ground with an inelegant oomph. He moved towards her, eyes blazing. He was going to do it, he was finally going to end this relentless game of cat and mouse between them. He was finally going to kill his sister. There was no feeling of regret or sorrow, just absolution, Alec had waited for too long and he was determined to end it now._

“Alec!” Clary screamed as Jace pulled him away, preventing him from doing the unforgiveable; and he came crashing down to reality, seraph blade falling to the floor with an almighty bang. This wasn’t the Isabelle who had tried to kill him so many times, who had cut all ties to her brother and didn’t understand the meaning of family, no this Isabelle was still whole and innocent. She loved her brother more than words could express and he had just attacked her.

Alec knew he should feel guilty, that the broken look in his younger sister’s eyes should rip his heart apart, but they had been on different sides of the war for so long now that he couldn’t find it in himself. Was he ashamed? Yes, but that was only because he had lost control in a way he hadn’t done so in years, not because he’d just hurt his own flesh and blood.

A little voice in his head wondered if there was anything wrong with him, there probably was, but after so many years of fighting, Alec knew it’d be stranger if he was completely normal.

“Let’s get back to the institute,” he said instead, turning to a motionless Hodge. Handcuffs were tightly bound round both his wrists and he found himself wondering when the others had found chance to do that. “We need to question him.”

}}}}

“Hodge is being interrogated now,” Alec informed the others as he made his way into the foyer of the institute, Jace, Clary and Izzy all waiting, their trepidation building.

“Right, well I think that can wait for the moment don’t you? What the hell was that?” Jace demanded to know, fists clenched. He had always known Alec was a good fighter, was one of the institute’s best in fact, but earlier on with Hodge, well he didn’t think he’d ever seen anything like it before. It was nothing like his own fight, Jace knew he hadn’t been in control, he’d let his rage take over and it had made him sloppy. If the others hadn’t been there he’d have probably lost because of it.

But Alec hadn’t been fighting like himself either and it had been unnerving to witness. He had been completely relentless, going for hit after hit and not giving Hodge chance to attack. It was like watching a machine rather than a person with nothing stopping him, he just kept going, kept on fighting.

There was no emotion behind any of Alec’s movements, nothing to indicate that he was upset or angry or betrayed, hell Jace had seen more emotion when he fought with unknown demons. He didn’t understand it, yes his parabatai was worryingly good at bottling up his emotions, but this was on a whole other level. It was like he wasn’t seeing Hodge, wasn’t taking in that this was the man he had known for his whole life, who had trained him since he had been able to walk, and it was a little more than worrying.

He hadn’t even stopped at disarming his former teacher, choosing instead to rip and slash into Hodge with his blade; the medical team said he’d completely lost the eye that had been gashed and even with the help of runes it would take him a long time to fully recover.

But that wasn’t the worst of it because Jace knew that Alec had been about to kill his former tutor, something he would never have believed until he saw. Whilst not averse to killing demons Alec normally only ever did it when completely necessary, so how did he go from that to being willing to kill a man, a fellow shadowhunter that he had known for so long?

And then he had rounded on Izzy of all people, and for Jace, that moment was the scariest thing. Because with Hodge Alec had been emotionless, like he was there because he had to be not because he wanted to, but with Izzy, well for a second there had been something in Alec’s eyes, and Jace knew, he just knew it had been hatred.

He had never seen something so dark in his brother’s eyes before and it scared him. He knew Alec had been going through a lot lately, but yesterday after the wedding he had finally been happy. He had been smiling giddily when he thought no-one was looking, elated to finally be free and honest with the world and himself.

Not even twenty four hours later and it was like looking at another person. What had changed to elicit a look like that on his face? To make him hate Isabelle?

“I didn’t mean to okay,” Alec said, though he was unable to look at Izzy. “I just reacted, it all happened out of instinct.”

“It’s okay,” the younger girl said with a comforting smile, though it was more of a grimace. Jace hadn’t been the only one to notice the look on Alec’s face.

“Is it really?” He asked, fists clenched. Though before Jace could go any further he was interrupted by the unmistakeable lilt of Magnus Bane, his voice carrying through the corridors.

“Ah there you are,” he said, sounding pleased when he finally found them, though it faded away to confusion at the obvious tension in the air. “Interrupting am I?”

“Not at all,” Alec responded gruffly.

“Now that’s what I like to hear Alexander,” Magnus said smoothly, lacing his fingers together as he leant against the same wall as Alec. Jace found himself preparing to lose all of Alec’s concentration for the next couple of minutes, he could never think straight when the warlock was around and if last night was anything to go by, it was only going to get worse now they’d kissed and were finally being open with one another.

But no blush painted Alec’s cheeks as the normally did, nor was there any awkward, but also besotted stumbling over words. Magnus looked a little put out by the lack of reaction if his pout was anything to go by, though he quickly shook it off.

“Raphael’s not eager to release Camille but he’s given me a list of her addresses. The book of the white could be in any one of those.”

“And if it isn’t?” Izzy asked, choosing instead to focus on the task at hand rather than what was going on with her brother.

“Oh I’m planning to return to the Hotel Dumort everyday till he gives in, I’ll give it three maximum. I can be very persuasive you see.” At this he raised his eyebrows suggestively at Alec, who merely rolled his eyes, looking more than a little unimpressed. “Until then I’ve left Simon there to see if he can sway Raphael, the pair do seem to be sickeningly taken with each other.”

“So what are you planning on doing till then?” Alec asked, and Jace readied himself for the onslaught of innuendos that would no doubt be soon coming from the warlock, the others looking very much the same.

“Well I was thinking of helping out with this whole Valentine mess, though I’m sure I can be persuaded to mix in a bit of pleasure too,” Magnus purred, sliding closer to Alec. By the Angel, he really was shameless.

“Fantastic,” Alec said, though his tone suggested anything but, his lip curling in annoyance and… disgust? Jace found himself sharing a worried look with Clary, what was going on now?

“Surely I’m not that bad of a kisser? I mean you weren’t saying that yesterday in the boardroom,” Magnus teased, seemingly not bothered by the audience.

At his words Alec choked on air, going pale as a sheet. Jace thought he even looked a little bit nauseous.

“Well not the response I was going for but I can work with it,” the ancient warlock said, taking a step forward and leaning against the wall so he was just about entering Alec’s personal space, his expression practically screaming what he wanted to do to the younger man.

Apparently this was the worst thing to do, as Alec roughly pushed him away causing Magnus to stumble in a way Jace didn’t think possible. He didn’t even realise the warlock could be caught unaware.

“Stay away from me Bane,” he snarled before storming away, leaving a very shellshocked group behind.

“Anyone care to explain?” Magnus tried and Jace groaned, feeling a headache forming.

}}}}}}}}}}}}

He couldn’t breath, it felt like everything was caving in. Alec couldn’t focus on where he was going, he just knew he needed to leave, he needed to get away from them, with their questioning looks and unwanted touches.

His shoulder burnt where Magnus had touched it, and he scratched at the area, desperate to get rid of all signs of contact. But that was impossible because they had… kissed. The idea was laughable to Alec, but it was clearly no cruel joke.

Everyone’s words now made sense to him, and he wanted to be sick. This version of him was with Magnus Bane. They had kissed? Even thinking about this body touching his made Alec feel dirty. How could this version of him be so enthralled by the warlock, didn’t he know how dangerous he was? How selfish?

_“We want Rathmere’s crystal,” the man on the feed said directly into the camera. “You give it to us and this pretty little thing can go free.” A bound and gagged Lydia was dragged into shot and Alec paled, hand gripping Magnus’ as the two watched in horror._

“ _That’s not going to happen,” Magnus said coolly, not looking away from the screen, despite Alec’s eyes now on him. “I wouldn’t have thought you stupid enough to ask.”_

_“Magnus you can’t do this,” Alec protested, pulling on the warlock’s shoulder so he had no choice but to look at him. “We have to save Lydia.”_

_“We can’t. That crystal is too powerful Alexander, if Elias got his hands on it who knows what destruction he would cause.”_

_“But Lydia-“_

_“Lydia is a strong solider but the war is not dependent on her. If I could save her I would, but I cannot sacrifice the crystal.”_

_“You can’t do this,” Alec almost screamed, hands shaking as he realised just how serious Magnus was._

_“I have to,” the warlock said grimly, turning back to the monitor. “You heard me demon. I won’t be exchanging the crystal for your prisoner.”_

_“Very well,” the demon said coolly, not giving away how frustrated Magnus’ decision made him. “I warned you.” Without another word he calmly wrenched Lydia’s head, snapping her neck in an instant. She fell where she stood, tears staining her quickly paling cheeks._

_Alec hadn’t been aware he’d been crying, screaming with anguish until the screen had been turned off._

_“I’m sorry Alexander,” Magnus said solemnly, moving to comfort the Nephilim, but Alec pushed him away._

_“This is your fault,” he spat. “You chose Lydia for this mission and when she needed your help you let her die!”_

_“It was the right choice but I’m not saying it was easy. Lydia would have agreed, she knew what she was signing onto.” But Alec was beyond listening to reason, anger ran through his veins and he was practically shaking._

_“Stay away from me, I never want anything to do with you again. You’re as bad as Elias, you warlocks are all the same.”_

He’d never been able to forgive Magnus after that. Part of him knew that what the warlock had done was ultimately the right choice, but Lydia had been one of the very few people he’d had left. She was practically his sister, a role she took on more willingly than his real one, and the two had always had each other’s backs, so to lose her after knowing he could save her was heart-wrenching.

He also knew that deep down there had been a connection, an initial spark of attraction between himself and Magnus, but any chance of them acting on it had been destroyed the moment the warlock left Lydia to die. That didn’t stop him from questioning this version of him’s sanity though.

“Ah there you are,” speak of the devil and he will come Alec couldn’t help but think, glaring as Magnus turned around the corner, hands help up in a mock surrender. “Care to tell me what was going on back there?”

“It’s none of your business Magnus,” Alec snapped, refusing to look the warlock’s way and missing the look of hurt that passed over his features before a mask of indifference settled.

“It’s a little too late to pretend you don’t care for me you know, and well, if you’re doing all this to try and convince everyone you’re still straight I have some unfortunate news for you. Running out of your own wedding to kiss a man is kind of an impossible stunt to pull away from.”

“Why would I want to do that? I don’t have a problem with being gay,” Alec said and it was true. When the world was ending and you could die at any moment there was little point in lying about what you were and hating others for being different.

“Your actions would say otherwise,” Magnus took a step forward, trapping Alec between him and the wall. “It’s okay to be scared Alexander, what you did yesterday was nothing short of brilliant but like we said, we can take this slow until you feel comfortable.”

Alec had never seen the warlock look so compassionate before, it was a layer of vulnerability he hadn’t even known existed and it was more than a little unnerving. Maybe this Magnus cared for this Alec more than he realised.

Without conscious thought Alec moved forwards, his lips touching Magnus’. Their soft kiss soon turned passionate, like they were the only two in the whole world and a happiness that Alec couldn’t remember ever experiencing erupted into his chest and he moved closer to the warlock, hands wrapping over his shoulders.

Magnus’ hands pulled at his hips and Alec felt the outside world dissolving around him, there was only him and Magnus. Waves of bliss washed over him and he was unable to focus on little else.

As he found himself being pushed into the wall, the connecting rail dug sharply into his back and Alec came falling back down to earth with a resounding crash, realising where he was, and more importantly with who.

“What the hell?” he snarled, pushing Magnus away roughly. “Stay away from me have you got that? I don’t want anything to do with you, you’re nothing to me!”

“Alec – I, what,” Magnus stumbled over his words in a manner very unlike his own, though he silenced as the sound of voices from around the corner reached them.

“There you guys are,” Clary said when she spotted them, a frown forming at the distance between the pair. “Hodge’s started talking, apparently Valentine’s already start recruiting people to become shadowhunters now he has the mortal cup. He didn’t know a lot, apparently Valentine didn’t trust him further than he could throw him but he did tell us where some of the new recruits are likely to be.”

“Let’s go then,” Alec said without pause. The sooner all this Valentine drama was over then the quicker he’d be able to find the crevit and get to go back to his world.

}}}}}

It didn’t take long to find them. Three of Valentine’s recruits were making their way along the abandoned shipping yard, easily identifiable by the large circle rune on their necks.

“Four on three, it’s the best odds we’ll get for a while,” Izzy muttered from her viewpoint, rearing for a fight.

“Don’t get too cocky,” Alec reminded her, he’d lost friends who’d had better odds.

“Ahh there’s the pessimist we all know and love,” his sister smirked and Alec was reminded of all the times he’d been sent that expression whilst in battle. It took all his strength to not try and run her through with his blade. This wasn’t the Isabelle he knew, this one was free, she wasn’t trying to kill him or any innocent soul who got in her way and he needed to remember that.  
  
Wary of what could come next Jace took control. “Come on, it’s now or never.”

The four shadowhunters jumped down to the ground, all landing swiftly on their feet and alerting Valentine’s aids to their presence. The three turned, activating their blades as they realised just who they were facing.

“Don’t kill the blonde or the redhead, you know what Valentine said,” one commanded, a grizzly man with cold, dark eyes. “The other two though, they’re fair game.”

One of his partners, a redheaded male at least ten years senior to Alec almost laughed out loud as he notched an arrow onto his crossbow. Alec could see why though, going from being a mundane to a shadowhunter was the best rush these people would ever experience, and no doubt all would feel invincible. Luckily for them though, this group of unexperienced novices were not. Without hesitation the four shadowhunters flung themselves to the ground to miss the shot, rolling in different directions and to their feet.

That had been the former mundanes first mistake, splitting up their opposition. Isabelle cracked her whip, hitting the man’s arm with cold precision. He screamed as his flesh split, revealing stark white bone underneath, and as he cried out, he dropped his crossbow, falling to the floor with it.

“No!” he shrieked as Clary came near to try and restrain him, reaching for a dagger attached to his belt. Although gravely injured, the energy that came from just being turned was still racing through him, making it easier to forget the pain and continue fighting.

He lunged like a wild animal, and Clary cried out as her thigh was slashed deeply, falling to the floor as the man swung again. His head snapped backward as Izzy delivered a deft punch, effectively dazing him and giving Clary a chance to get back to her feet, even though she was notably favouring one leg over the other. 

The newly turned wasn’t down for long though and lunged again, though this time Clary was able to block the attack, lifting her knee so it connected with the man’s stomach, despite her body screaming for her not to do so. Her move worked though and he dropped, desperately trying to catch a breath.

Without hesitation Izzy hit him with the hilt of her blade and he collapsed, down for the count.

}}}}

Alec stabbed forward with his blade, though his opponent, the third member of the group managed to twist around the knife and grab his arm, pulling him close. The girl was lithe and pale with voluminous hair that fell almost to her waist, though her strength was no less because of her size.

Alec managed to throw her off, blocking the girl’s attack with ease and he forced her back with a slash, sidestepping when she tried to lunge forward. It was obvious that this version of him was also a fighter, Alec could feel the strength within, grateful that his alternate self hadn’t been some slovenly waste of space, he’d have had no hope otherwise, but this, this he could work with.

Even though the girl was still buzzing from being recently turned her lack of training meant it was easy to overpower her. Alec easily knocked the sword out of her hand, landing a punch on the jaw.

Despite a lack of skills the brunette was still strong and merely stumbled before getting a kick in, it hitting Alec square in the chest and he fell as a result. She went to stomp down, to crush Alec’s head but he rolled out of the way in the nick of time, pulling her down to the ground before she had chance to regain her balance.

As he moved to get a better grip of her, practically straddling her in the process, the girl snarled and snapped like a feral animal, trying desperately to get out of the tight hold, but Alec wasn’t budging.

}}}}

Both Jace and his opponent had lost their weapons early into the battle, not that that was stopping either of them.

The blonde was completely ruthless as he fought against one of Valentine’s men, one of his father’s soldiers. Fury pumped through Jace’s veins as he landed blow after blow on his opponent, seeing complete red. His whole life had been turned upside down and he didn’t even know who he was anymore. It was clear that Valentine wanted both him and Clary and deep down Jace knew why. There was a darkness inside of him, one that rivalled even his father’s and Valentine wanted it, wanted him on his side.

But Jase couldn’t give in, he felt sick at the thought of it all, praying to go back to simpler times but that wasn’t possible. Instead he focused on the fight, on the bloodlust that was taking over him, if he could stop the new shadowhunters, stop Valentine’s plot then maybe it meant he’d be okay. That he wouldn’t go dark.

Jace kicked back the ringleader, not even pausing for breath as the other man fell to his feet, blood seeping to the floor from various wounds. Landing a hardy punch the former mundane’s head cracked into the ground and he lay motionless as blood flowed onto the floor at a now alarming rate. Unable to breath Jace’s hand moved to the man’s throat, desperately trying to find a pulse. There was nothing. He was dead.

He had killed a man.

Panic bubbled in the pit of his stomach as the implications of what had just happened hit him. Maybe Valentine was right, maybe he was as bad as his father. Jace wanted to be sick, he wanted to scream, he wanted to undo this terrible evil. But nothing was coming, he was helpless, hands staining red as he refused to lose contact with the former mundane.

Despite his position and the constant struggle with his own opponent Alec was the first to notice what had happened.

“Jace! Is he?” he yelled, grunting as the girl tried to knee him in the stomach, her position not allowing for her leg to raise more than a couple of inches off the floor. Clary ran to help him whilst Izzy remained by the man who’d had the crossbow, looking like she wanted nothing more than to help but remembering what had happened last time she’d startled her brother during a fight.

“Yeah,” Jace found himself replying though he didn’t recognise his own voice.

“One of your own is dead,” Alec said darkly to the girl beneath him as grabbed hold of her arms to give him a greater vantage point, not checking to make sure his adoptive brother was okay like his alternate self would have done. “So you better start talking or you’re going exactly the same way.”

The girl spat in his face though Alec didn’t even blink, choosing instead to dig his knee deeper into her stomach.

“Izzy wake the other guy up. We’re going to show them just what happens when they choose to follow a maniac like Valentine.”

Before moving to the unconscious shadowhunter Izzy looked towards Jace, only carving the rune when he motioned for her to do so. The blonde finally moved away from the deceased man, running a hand through his hair as he came over to Izzy, staining it pink. Together she and he restrained the ginger man, who was screaming and struggling with all his might, his rage worsening when he saw just what Alec was doing to his partner.

Back in his world if there had been one thing Alec had excelled in it was the art of interrogating. Over the years he’d learnt what caused the most pain and how far he could go without his prisoner blacking out and becoming useless.

This time was no different and he took almost a sick joy in the familiarity of it when in an environment that was so different. Did that make him a psychopath? He wasn’t sure, though if it did it meant at least 90% of his world was. Everyone had had to do terrible things to survive, shadowhunter, downworlder and mundane alike.

He had to hand it to the girl as she writhed on the floor below him, biting her lip so hard it bled, she had strength. Hardened warriors had cracked under him way before she had and he hated to admit it, but Alec could tell that breaking her would take too long.

Her companion however? If the way he was screaming and shouting was anything to go by, and that was just watching Alec, then he’d sing like a bird in no time.

“I warned you,” he said softly to the girl, stroking the tip of his dagger’s blade along her jaw.

“ALEC NO!” He didn’t know exactly who had screamed at him, but it was too late. The dagger was already plunged into the girl’s stomach and she was gone.

Moving off the now prone figure Alec made his way over to the final member of the small group who was desperately struggling against a shell-shocked Izzy and Jace. He clenched a bloody hand around the other man’s jaw, forcing him to look at him so that he could take in the fear and the desperation. Yes, he’d spill in no time.

“Now, are you going to play nice or am I going to have to waste even more time?”

}}}}}}

“What the fuck was that?” Izzy yelled as the four shadowhunters entered a side-room in the institute, Alec pulling off his blood-soaked garmets once the door was shut. “How could you even do that, they were people!”

“He lost two fingers, he’ll get over it,” Alec protested, looking through the drawers where he knew spare clothes were kept.

“And what about that girl? She lost her life Alec, you killed her. I doubt she’ll be getting over it anytime soon,” Clary said, her lip curling in disgust. For the first time Alec felt shame rush through him. Had he gone a step too far?

In his world Clary would have been right behind him, she knew that sometimes sacrifices had be made to get information no matter how unpleasant, but this wasn’t his Clary. This was a softer more innocent version of her, a more innocent, uncorrupted version of his world.

Whilst techniques like his were most certainly not unheard of, it seemed they were only used by the most extreme of people. Was that him now? Had so many years of fighting relentlessly turned him into that?

Alec couldn’t be doubting himself. Doing that only lead to mistakes and mistakes lead to death. These people were of another world to him, but that didn’t mean they were right.

“We needed answers about Valentine and I made sure that we got them. We know where his ship is now and how many people he recruited, that’s a lot more information than we got from Hodge.”

“Hodge didn’t know those things, but these people did. If we brought them back and questioned them properly we’d still have gotten those answers.”

“In what, a day or maybe even a week? We don’t have that time Jace, Valentine is acting now so that’s when we need to get answers. I was doing my job as a shadowhunter, unlike the rest of you apparently.”

“Since when has being a shadowhunter included acting like a monster?” Isabelle asked, her eyes flashing furiously. “Why are you doing this? What changed for you that made you think it was okay to senselessly torture people?”

“Just because I got answers when you couldn’t-“

“Don’t you dare try and place the blame on me,” the brunette snarled, more angry than Alec had seen in a long time. “I thought after the trial and the wedding that you’d finally start going back to normal. That you’d be happy again but it’s like the opposite. It’s like you’re not even you anymore.”

“I think my dear,” a familiar voice said from the doorway, sounding more solemn than Alec thought possible. “That you are right.”

He turned to Magnus with fire in his eyes. If anyone could figure it out it’d be him, as a centuries old warlock he’d definitely be familiar with inter-dimensional travel, his parallel counterpart had been after all. The question was, had he solved it?

Before he could do or say anything to throw Magnus off the scent his vision was clouded by a light blue mist, glitter dotting his vision.

“Well that is interesting,” Magnus said soberly, wiping away the residue of his creation off his hands as Alec’s vision cleared. “I mean, that wasn’t my first choice, though if we’re going to be anal it was in my top ten so I’ll have points for trying.”

“What is it? What did you do?” Izzy asked the warlock, all three shadowhunters looking at Alec with trepidation, hands moving to their weapons.

“Oh nothing major my dear, it just revealed some much needed answers. You know you really haven’t been that discrete, it’s taken what, twelve hours if that? Obviously subtlety is a universal trait for Alexander Lightwood,” Magnus now sounded amused as he chose to focus on only Alec. He tilted his head to the side, as if he was trying to see the differences, laughing when he all he received was a heated glare. “Well do you want to tell them or shall I?”

“As long as someone tells us something I don’t care if it’s you or the Queen of England,” Clary snapped, growing tired at the lack of answers. Alec remained silent, mentally cursing himself instead. This was it, they were going to find out who he really was and he was going to be sent back to his own world. He’d failed his mission and Elias would never be defeated.

Why hadn’t he let Clary go like she’d asked, she’d have had the mission over and done with in half the time he’d spent wasting it, and she wouldn’t have been found out either.

“I’ll go then,” Magnus started when it was clear Alec wasn’t going to say anything. “This is Alexander to some extent, but not the one you know.”

“What do you mean?” Jase asked, and although Clary was looking considerate it was clear the others were all just as confused as before. Alec felt frustration build up inside of him, couldn’t the damn warlock just say it and be done with it, why did he need to make such a song and dance out of everything?

“I’m from another world,” he snapped, bristling as everyone turned to him, looking at him like he’d grown another head. “I am Alec Lightwood but I come from a different version of this world, I’ve had to enter his body whilst I’m here.”

“Magnus can’t you separate the two of them?” Izzy asked looking frantic, though both Clary and Jace looked reserved, having travelled across dimensions before.

“I’m afraid it doesn’t work like that my dear. Bringing this Alec’s body to this world would be very much like creating energy, impossible to do. But Alec will be okay, when this alternate version of him leaves he’ll regain control. Chances are he won’t even know what happened.

“I do have to ask though, why are you here? People don’t just jump through dimensions for a spot of tea.”

“You’re… you’re not just going to send me back?” Alec asked astounded. He’d thought being discovered would mean game over. That he’d be sent away without a chance to explain himself, but despite being all obviously shaken, the group in front of him all seemed willing to listen to what he had to say.

“Not unless that’s something you prefer,” Magnus laughed. “But I doubt you risked everything for just that. We’re not monsters, tell us why you’re here and we can help.”

Alec was silent for a moment, desperately trying to decide where to start and exactly how much he should tell the others. All eyes were on him and despite looking for distrust and anger the shadowhunter couldn’t see anything but concern and intrigue in their expressions.

“My world is very different than this,” he started with hesitation, choosing to look down at his hands instead of the doppelgangers in front of him. “For us there’s not a divide between shadowhunters and downworlders like there seems to be here, what you are doesn’t matter and it never has done.”

“That sounds great,” Isabelle said softly, her expression marred with frustration as she thought about the grief and unfair judgement she had received from her relationship with Meliorn.

“It was, but like in this world there are always a few extremists who threaten it all. In my world that was Elias Toran, a powerful warlock. He’ll do everything for power and won’t let anything stop him. It might not even have been that bad but he has hundreds, thousands even, of followers, people who believe his delusions or are just too scared to oppose. Most of them are demons, they’re just as evil in my world as in this one, but he’s got his fair share of downworlders and shadowhunters fighting his corner too.”

“There must be a reason he’s like that,” Clary tried and not for the first time Alec was amazed by her innocence that was so unlike her parallel’s counter-part.

“There have been rumours about his past,” Alec nodded. “But nothing confirmed. I think he has it that way to keep people scared.”

_Elias Toran was born in a small village in the British Isles. His mother and father made a modest living through selling their goods down the local market. When Elias had been born they had felt blessed, for so long they had been trying for a child and now they had a healthy son to call their own._

_But at just five years old his appearance started to change. His once startling blue eyes started to darken until they became a magnificent, royal purple, the colour bleeding into the whites of his eyes. Elias’ warlock mark had developed and his parents were terrified._

_They knew what it meant, another family from the neighbouring village had discovered their child to be a warlock only the year before. The young girl had been drowned in the local river before she could cause destruction like such disgraces were sure to do. But although Elias’ parents were terrified of their son they couldn’t find it in themselves to report him, he was their flesh and blood! They’d been trying for a family for so long, how was it fair that it was all going to be ripped away from them?_

_So they did what scared people do best. Act without thinking. They tied him up in their barn with chains and rope so that he could cause no harm._

_“It’s for the best,” they said as he cried out in anguish._

_“We’re protecting you,” they said when he begged to be released._

_For months Elias was locked away with his main company being the small group of chickens his family owned. Gradually his fear and upset became something else. It became anger, more intense and powerful than any boy his age should ever experience, and with it, Elias’ powers finally came into their own._

_He hadn’t meant to kill his parents, it had genuinely been an accident, but as his mother stuffed spoonful after spoonful of watery porridge into his mouth, not even looking him in the eye as she did so, Elias felt a familiar rage take over him._

_With a scream the boy finally released all the emotions that had been pent up for so long, causing his chains to break apart and his parents to go flying. They were dead before they even hit the ground._

_}}}}}}}}}}}_

“ _Oi get off my land! I won’t have no beggars here,” a crotchety old man yelled, waving his stick at a seated Elias. He was fifteen now and had been living on the streets ever since his parents had... passed._

_With time he had grown to gain control over his powers, able to mask the mark that made it obvious that he was such an abomination, not that it made his life any easier._

_“Do you hear me boy,” the man raged as he got closer to Elias, picking him up by the scruff of his ragged shirt. “Get off my land, I won’t say it again!”_

_An anger that Elias hadn’t experienced in a long time washed over him. How dare this man speak to him like that? Did he have no decency at all? Why was he so cruel, Elias hadn’t been hurting anyone._

_As his emotions took the better of him Elias forgot to control his glamour, his royal purple eyes revealing themselves. The old man jumped back in shock, lifting his stick up in a bid to protect himself._

_“Get away from me demon!” he swung as he yelled, the wood connecting with Elias’ head with an almighty crack and the young boy went flying._

_“Enough!” he yelled, gingerly touching his now throbbing head, not altogether startled when his hand came back bloody. How would this man like it if he had done the same thing thought Elias, though, it wasn’t like he didn’t deserve it._

_At that thought the man fell onto his hands and knees, crying out in agony, blood trickled down his neck from a newly gained head-wound. Distantly Elias realised that he’d done that, good he thought, standing so that he could stare at the old farmer, now begging desperately for his life._

_Without a word Elias picked up the now abandoned stick, lifting it and swinging it like a golf-club. The man fell without another sound, blood staining the surrounding grass._

_}}}}}}}}_

_When Elias was nineteen he met another warlock, the first of his kind. Her name had been Annabelle and she was beautiful. Golden tresses fell down her back and her warlock mark had been small delicate wings that were hidden by her locks. So much better than Elias’ oddly coloured eyes._

_The two had fallen in love, travelling through village after village to find the next adventure. For the first time it didn’t matter that Elias had no place to call his home, when he was with Annabelle he was happy._

_They had been in a small pub one night when a drunken man had pulled away Annabelle’s shawl with a leer, though his expression turned to of one of horror when he saw the outline of her wings against her dress. Elias had tried to stop them, had pushed at them and screamed but it was useless._

_The mundanes had pinned a sobbing Annabelle down, pulling off her dress and leaving her completely exposed. They then chopped away at her hair, golden locks tumbling to the floor and leaving nothing to hide her warlock mark._

_But then it got worse and they committed the unforgiveable. Using a rusted knife from the kitchens they hacked at her wings, blood and spurting staining everything. Annabelle passed out, the pain so bad but Elias was made to watch the whole thing, too overpowered by the sheer force of all the people to stop them._

_And as the plunged the blade into her heart, Elias screamed. He screamed more than he ever had in his life, all the rage and the sorrow twisting into bitterness. His powers were finally let loose and the pub full of people fell down to the floor, all screaming in a mirror image of the warlock before them._

_“She was a good person!” he screamed, spittle hitting the people closest to him. “She was kind and good, but because she’s different you want to see her burn. Well no more! I’ve had enough of seeing my people suffering because of close-minded bastards like you and it’s going to end. But first I’m going to burn you.”_

_Flames from the fire leapt forward, enveloping the pub within seconds. And as Elias walked away, the sounds of desperate screams and the crackling of the pub being the only thing to break the otherwise silent night he couldn’t help but smile._

_He had a plan, a way to make sure he was never left being so powerless again, so no-one would have to suffer like Annabelle had._

_}}}}}}}}}_

_“Please no don’t! I’m begging you,” a young warlock begged, pressed against the wall as Elias raised his hand, eyes cold and unforgiving._

_“But you deserve it,” he said softly, not letting the girl in front of him move no matter how much she tried to struggle. “You go along stealing from people, that’s not why you have this gift. I’d put it to so much better use.”_

_The woman screamed as he grabbed her face between each hand, the sound intensifying as she felt her power bubbling underneath the surface, begging to be let out. When the cries had died down to mindless gurgles Elias let go of the girl in front him and she fell heavily to the floor, a mere empty shell of what she had been._

_But the warlock didn’t care, he breathed in as the new power washed over him, already feeling more powerful. He may not have been able to stop the mundanes when he only had the power of one inside of him, but now, now he’d be unstoppable._

“Elias continued doing that until his desire for more power became everything he wanted,” Alec explained, noting that the others in front of him looked just as ill as he felt when thinking about the past. “He used to steal magic from the ‘deserving’, people who used their powers for selfish reasons but that wasn’t enough. They weren’t as powerful as he wanted them to be so he turned to the stronger ones. Rumour has it he’s even managed to summon an angel and steal powers from that.”

“There has to be a way to stop him,” Isabelle tried, unable to believe a world so terrible could exist.

“There is,” Alec nodded. “There’s a locket called the crevit and it works to magnify the power of the beholder. We have a way that can increase the powers of multiple warlocks all at once and we’re going to use it to overpower Elias. But he found out what we were doing and destroyed the crevit in my world making it impossible.”

“So that’s why you came to this one.”

“On the resistance is a seer called Victoria. She used her sight to find the crevit in another world and found one here. This Alec has some form of connection to it so I came through to try and find it. When I get it I’ll be gone.”

“Do you have any idea where it’ll be?” Jace asked, masking his disappointment well when Alec only shook his head.

“I think it must be somewhere in this institute but I haven’t had time to check the archives and see.”

“Well I think that’s our first stop then,” Magnus stood, the others following suite a split-second later.

“You’re helping me?” Alec asked, unable to keep the surprise out of his tone.

“Of course we are,” Magnus sniffed, sounding offended that he even needed to be asked. “All this adventure keeps me young and only saving one world at a time was getting boring.”

}}}}}}}

Whilst the institute’s database had told the group that the crevit was most definitely stored in the archives it didn’t tell them where exactly it was, giving the group a mammoth task.

To make it easier they’d decided to split up, though as he found himself going through box after box Jace was struggling to focus on the task at hand, his mind always going back to his parabatai.

He himself had travelled through to an alternate world so knew what it was like to take over the body of someone who was identical to yourself in so many ways, but at the same time equally different. He had never thought about what impact this had had on his alternate self though, would that Jace remember what had happened or did he have no recollection of when he wasn’t controlling his body?

For Alec’s sake he sorely hoped it was the latter. This version of his parabatai was so different. He was hardened and willing to make the difficult decision if it meant getting results, you could tell he came from a world of war.

But the real Alec, _his_ Alec wasn’t like that. Sure he had the cold and judgemental front down to a fine art but Jace knew it was just that, a front. The blonde had been there the first time Alec had killed a downworlder, a rogue werewolf who had been attacking innocents. The older shadowhunter hadn’t slept properly in weeks, his guilt over the situation building as more time passed.

If he had been like that then Jace didn’t even want to think about what would happen if Alec remembered torturing and killing fellow shadowhunters, even if they were on Valentine’s side. He’d never get over it, it could even drive him mad.

Maybe Magnus would know a spell if Alec did remember what happened, Jace resolutely made note to ask, even if the thought of magic interfering with his brother was unsettling.

}}}}

“So,” Izzy started hesitantly, watching as Alec pulled another trunk open, scouring through the contents. “I’m going to take a gamble and say that we’re not the closest brother and sister in your world.”

“What makes you say that?” Alec said casually, but the way he’d stiffened told Izzy she was definitely on the right tracks.

“I’ve seen the way you look at me, like you’re this close to running me through with a sword. I’m on his side aren’t I, this Elias. That’s why you attacked me earlier with Hodge, you’ve gotten so used to having to do it.”

“Iz,” Alec sighed, running a hand through his hair. “It’s not like that.”

“So I’m right,” the younger Lightwood nodded, blinking back tears. How had that happened? Alec was the most important person in her life, why was that so different in the other world? Did that mean there was something dark and twisted inside of her, it just hadn’t had chance to be released yet? For the first time Isabelle knew exactly how Jace felt, how scared he was after it was revealed Valentine was his father.

“It’s not that simple I-“

“So tell me how it is Alec!” Izzy cried wiping away an errant tear. “Tell me why I’m like that, why I’m so bad you’re willing to kill me.”

_“Solomon’s found him,” a frantic Isabelle came running up to Alec, panting slightly when she came to a stop. It was obvious she’d ran the whole way from the lab, four floors up, to Alec’s room._  
  
“Found what?” her older brother asked, closing his book shut with a snap. 

_“The bastard who killed Mom and Dad. He’s found where Marax is, it’s not far we could be there within the hour.”_

_“What are you talking about?” Alec asked, trepidation building as he begged for Izzy to not say what he thought she was going to._

_“This is our perfect chance Alec. We can avenge their deaths, we can kill him!”_

_“No way,” Alec said without hesitation, not backing down as Izzy glared at him. “Marax is one of Elias’ most powerful demons, if he could kill Mom and Dad then what hope do a fifteen and twelve year old kid have.”_

_“We can’t just let him be, this is the first chance we’ve had since they died! Or don’t you even care anymore?”_

_“Don’t say that Izzy, you know if I could I would do anything to avenge them.”_

_“Well it really doesn’t seem that way,” Isabelle snapped, fists clenching. “You’ll see, I’ll go and stop Marax myself and then you’ll be sorry that you didn’t come.”_

_“Good luck with even getting out of the institute Iz, remind me how far you got last time before you got caught. Oh yeah, you hadn’t even made it to the door!”_

_The young girl’s lip curled before she stomped away and Alec rolled his eyes at his sister’s dramatics. But a couple of hours later when the resistance were wondering where the youngest Lightwood was he couldn’t help but feel a little worried._

_Shortly after video footage was found of her sneaking out of the institute and making her way downtown to where Marax was reported to be staying._

_Alec never found out exactly what had happened when Isabelle went to confront the demon, but the way her eyes turned as black as the night when they next met told him all he needed to know. Isabelle Lightwood was no more, her body a mere plaything for the demon inhabiting it._

_Over the years the monster had taunted Alec about Isabelle’s final moments, told him how she had screamed and begged for release, how she had fought for so long in her mind but eventually given up till it was like she was no longer even there._

_He had scoured every text out there to try and find some answers on how to rescue his sister but every plan he’d tried had failed, resulting in only more death and destruction. Eventually Alec had to admit defeat, he was never going to save his sister, even shadowhunters couldn’t deal with being possessed for too long and if he managed to rid the demon out of her body it would be likely she’d just be an empty shell._

_Izzy was forever going to be trapped and the best Alec could do now was make her death as painless as possible, a lot easier said than done._

“Strictly speaking my sister died the day she left the institute, whatever’s in her body isn’t her,” Alec said with a sniff, wiping his eye with the back of his hand. “I’ve had to fight her for so long, or something that looks like her, it can be hard to disassociate. But you have to believe me Izzy, none of that is you and it’ll never happen in this world.

“And coming here and getting to see you all grown-up has made me even prouder to be your big brother. I got to see what my Izzy would have been like if she got to grow up and she’s even more beautiful, and strong, and amazing than I ever would have thought possible.”

“Alec I’m so sorry,” Izzy said softly, moving forward with her arms open. Before she made contact with the alternate version of her brother she paused, uneager to startle him though he soon pulled her into a tight hug. “But we’re going to find this crevit and you’re going to go home and defeat this bastard and do you know why? Because you’re a Lightwood and it doesn’t matter what universe we’re from, we’re fighters no matter what.”

}}}}}}}

It was Clary who found the crevit almost three hours later, and with the use of runes to keep them alert and awake the four shadowhunters had been awake for close to a solid twenty four hours. Was that all it had been, Alec found himself wondering, it felt like so much longer, so much had happened. Not that he wasn’t grateful, his world needed this pendant more than anything at the moment and the sooner he got back, then hopefully the sooner Elias would finally be defeated.

“Thank you, for everything,” he said passing the pendant Meliorn had given to him over to Magnus, who started to get to work to open the portal. “I don’t think I could have done this without your help.”

“That’s what families are for,” Izzy said with a smile pulling Alec into another tight hug.

As Magnus started on the final part of the ritual Alec pulled away blinking back the tears. Next time he saw his sister again they’d be on opposite sides of the battlefield, and after finally getting the chance to interact with her like a proper brother should it hurt even more to know what he was going to have to do.

“You know,” Alec said softly to Magnus as he finished up, the warlock intently listening despite focusing on the other task. “I used to think you were so bad, that you were selfish and fickle-“

“I’ve been called worse.”

“But you’re really not,” Alec didn’t let Magnus’ interruption stop him. “You had to make an impossible choice in my world and there was a sacrifice. I didn’t forgive you for that, I let my emotions cloud my judgement and thought the worst, but coming here has shown me I was wrong. You’re a good man Magnus and this Alec is really lucky to have you.”

“I’m afraid your… his mother would disagree but thank you,” Magnus nodded, and with a flick of his wrist the portal opened. “Now let’s get you home, you have a world to save.”

Clenching the crevit tightly Alec took one final look at the group in front of him, amazed at how much they’d come to mean to him in such a short space of time. He wanted to thank them for how much they’d done, to really show his gratitude but words had never been his strong point and they were failing him once more.

“We know,” Jace said with a smile, easily recognising his parabatai’s inner struggle, even if, strictly speaking they weren’t bonded. “And you’re welcome.”

Alec nodded gratefully, (maybe he’d have to give his Jace more of a chance) and turned to the portal. This was it, he was finally going home.

Magic surrounded him once he’d entered the portal and eventually he was enveloped by the darkness once more, thinking only of home.

}}}}}

“We’ll never know if he succeeds will we?” Izzy asked as she knelt by Alec’s now prone figure, the others all unusually silent.

“Unfortunately not,” Magnus replied grimly, taking a seat. It could take a while for the person to wake after being inhabited by an alternate version of themselves, so it was best to get comfy. “We’re not meant to be able to cross over to different paths as it is, so what Alexander did was risky enough. All we can do is pray that the locket was enough and that’ll he succeed in his mission.”

“I can’t believe how awful his world is,” Clary brushed away a tear, remembering the haunted look in Alec’s eyes as he tried to explain a bit of what had happened. “To think when Meliorn helped me out I went to the happiest world there was, there was no death or misery, and then there are places as awful as that one.”

“It doesn’t do well to think about it,” Magnus said as Jace pulled the redhead into a tight hug. “We can’t control any of the worlds and it would be useless to think otherwise. Fortunately that world is not ours, but we have our own struggles that we need to focus on instead.”

Before anymore could be said Alec awoke with a loud gasp, sitting bolt upright and looking around with wide eyes.

“Alec are you okay?” Izzy asked, clutching his hand tightly.

“Yeah I think so,” he replied, confusion increasing when he realised where he was. “Why are we in the storerooms?”

“Alec what do you remember about the last day or so?” Magnus asked now entirely serious. This was the moment of truth. If Alec remembered everything then no doubt he would need a lot of consoling and support about the killing and torturing of the shadowhunters, but if he didn’t then it called into question about how much he should be told. What he should be protected against.

Alec was silent for a moment, a frown forming as he wracked his brain. “It’s weird, it’s like I can remember things but it’s all in bits and pieces and nothing is properly connected. Like it was all a weird dream.”

“Do you remember when Clary and I went to that parallel world?” Jace asked, releasing a sigh of relief he didn’t know he’d been holding onto when Alec didn’t look at him like a complete stranger. When despite the obvious confusion there was also warmth and love in his eyes. “Well there’s something we need to tell you, about another world.”

And so the four talked whilst Alec listened, eyes growing wider and wider with each new detail they gave him. They didn’t tell him everything, didn’t tell him about attacking Isabelle or Valentine’s followers, Alec didn’t seem to remember the incidents and it wasn’t fair to make him.

And as they all made their way back up to the main body of the institute, all exhausted and thinking about nothing about their beds the five found themselves breathing a sigh of relief. They weren’t out of the woods yet, Valentine was still at large and causing damage but they had managed to stop at least one evil, even if it wasn’t their own, and for today, at that moment it was enough.

}}}}}}}}

“You think you can stop me!” Elias raged, standing tall and proud, and not looking even slightly affected by being surrounded by three of the most powerful warlocks, a soft glow emitting from their hands. “I am the most powerful warlock to ever live! I am more powerful than a God, you will never defeat me!”

“You know, one of my favourite things about you all-so-powerful warlocks is how blind you all are,” Magnus commented casually. “You think that your word is the law and forget about the old magics that we base our studies on.  And that my friend, is the worst mistake you could ever make.”

“Oh don’t tell me you’ve forgotten the significance and power of the number three,” another warlock, Ragnor Fell said just as loftily. “Beginning, middle and end?”

“Birth, life and death?”

“Together we are an unbeatable unity,” Magnus cried, noting that for the first time Elias was starting to look unnerved.

“You think you can beat me? Me who has the power of angels on my side!”

“But we have a little bit of extra help Elias,” Magnus bartered back, revealing the crevit previously hidden by his shirt. “Oh don’t look so shocked, just because your demons managed to destroy this world’s crevit it does not mean that there were not others that we couldn’t access.”

As the three warlocks started chanting in a tongue older than time Elias felt fear hit him for the first time in decades.

“Guards! My loyal followers come to me! I’m being attacked,” Elias cried, hoping desperately that someone would hear and stop the mages.

“Hate to burst your bubble but your ‘guards’ are a little busy at the moment,” Magnus had never sounded so gleeful before he started chanting once more.

}}}}}}}}

“Alec look out!” Said Nephilim managed to dart out of the way as an arrow shot past, throwing a grateful smile over his shoulder to Clary who was stabbing a vampire through the chest.

All throughout Elias’ expansive house were members of the resistance fighting off members of the guard whilst Magnus, Ragnor and Dot Rollins fought the warlock directly, the use of the crevit aiding them.

Besides Clary Jace fought valiantly, charging with a yell toward another shadowhunter, their blades wildly colliding as they tried to match pace. He stumbled, losing grip of his weapon and his opponent lifted her blade ready to finish the fight.

“NO!” Clary screamed, running to protect her newly-found brother, slashing out and beheading the older woman. “I’m not losing you that quickly.”

Jace shot the redhead a grateful smile before turning back to battle. Since Alec’s return and subsequent revelation his confidence on the battlefield, and in relation his skills had vastly improved. Alec wasn’t afraid to admit that he wished that he’d given the other man a chance before now, but there was no time to regret past decisions, only act so that the future was better.

“You’re really growing to be a pain in the ass,” Isabelle Lightwood snarled brandishing her whip. For a moment Alec was filled with sorrow like no other, remembering the version of his sister who’d had a free life, who hadn’t been enslaved by one of the greatest evils since she was a young child but that feeling soon passed.

This wasn’t his sister, it hadn’t been for eight long years, a fact easier to remember when he had met the real version of her, the version this Isabelle would have become given the chance. In that moment Alec knew what had to be done.

There was no more time for what-ifs and misjudged compassion, this was going to end and it was going to end tonight. Sword raised Alec charged before Izzy had chance to crack her whip again, getting into the safety zone where she’d no longer be able to hit him with the end.

Isabelle took a sharp blow to the face as Alec’s sword hilt connected with her cheek, a large gash slicing her face. It may have been enough to stop the average person but the demon within was stronger than most and barely slowed, warm brown eyes turning so dark that the blackness could have swallowed all light.

Alec reeled back as what was once his sister got a hit in, blinking back stars as he desperately tried to stay upright. His body was so exhausted, the only thing he was running on was adrenaline and fear, but as the alternate Isabelle’s faced flashed in his mind, alive and oh-so loving Alec felt the fury increase, silencing the fatigue till it no longer had an impact.

“DIE!” he screamed, stabbing forward with his sword. Isabelle screamed as she was ran through, instantly losing any and all strength, and as Alec pulled back she fell to the ground, blood pouring from her wound at an alarming rate.

Alec heard a guttural cry and after a second he realised it was him as he also fell to his knees, cradling his sister’s gasping, broken body.

“I’m so sorry,” he repeated between sobs as the battle raged on around him. “I wish there was another way, I do I really do.”

“Thank you,” Isabelle whispered between pained breaths.

“Izzy?”

“For about the first time in eight years,” she said with a weak, watery smile. “It’s still here, the demon but I’m holding it back.”

“If you can do that maybe we can get rid of it whilst you have control, we can fix you, we ca-“

“No big brother,” Isabelle whimpered as pain tore through her body, her tanned complexion paling at an alarming rate. “This is how it’s meant to be, I need to die and take this demon with me.”

“You can’t,” Alec protested, though he knew what Izzy was saying was the truth.

“Alec let me do this, it’s the only thing I can. Let me have this,” Isabelle pleaded. “I’ve watched this monster cause so much harm and grief in my body, been helpless to do anything but this, this I can do. I can stop it from causing anymore hurt in the world, just let me do it.”

Alec nodded weakly, tears streaming down his face as he clutched Isabelle’s bloody hand. He was losing his sister all over again.

“I love you Al, you’ve made me so proud,” Isabelle choked, managing her first real smile in years. “Thank you for setting me free.”

And then her eyes closed for the final time and she took her last laboured breath. Isabelle Lightwood was finally at peace and Alec was the last one left.

}}}}}}

“NO!” Elias screamed a final time before the warlock’s magic hit him. Although he tried to do everything he could to stop them, for once he was powerless and as he screamed and hopelessly tried to defend himself, Magnus, Ragnor and Dot put all their strength into their magic.

With a final scream Elias fell, the pain and anger forever etched into his now glassy eyes.

“We did it,” Dot breathed, collapsing on the floor as her strength finally left her, Ragnor quickly joining. “We finally killed him, the war’s over.”

Magnus would have loved nothing better than to join his old friends but he needed to see what was going on in the rest of the house. Was the fighting still going on? Who had they lost in the final battle? And more importantly who was left.

“Your leader is dead,” he bellowed, using an enchantment to magnify his voice so it carried through the whole house. “And the war is over. Sacrifice now and your punishment will be lenient.”

Using magic Magnus felt for everyone in the area, friend or foe, using a little _persuasion_ to end the final few ongoing fights. They had won and the time for fighting was over, it had been too long.

As he rounded the corner he came face to face with a sobbing Alec, bowed over his sister’s motionless body. Both Jase and Clary were off to the side, embracing Valentine as he entered the corridor at a run, though both turned to the older boy with concern.

Magnus’ heart broke for the Alec. He was so young and already lost so much, and now he had finally lost his sister after so many years of torture.

He didn’t know why he did it, it was practically a suicidal move in fact given their past track record, but Magnus felt his feet moving forward till he was crouched down beside Alec. He softly moved the shadowhunter’s hands off of his sister’s body, doing so carefully as if he was dealing with a wild animal, and turned himself so Alec was leaning in on him, wrapping his arms tightly round.

They didn’t say anything, they didn’t need to. Both had lost so much over their lifetimes that they knew that this sort of grief wasn’t rectified by comforting words.

Instead they revelled in the comfort of one another, finally able to breathe a sigh of relief. The results may not have been ideal, but Elias was dead and the war was over. They were free.

}}}}}}}

Alec shot upright with a gasp, a cold sweat drenching through his sheets. It had been a little over a week since his alternate self had visited and since then life had pretty much gone to pot.

Jace had left to join Valentine and his army of shadowhunters, doing the honourable and ‘Jace’ thing to prevent the others being caused harm, and although Jocelyn was now awake and trying to help she unfortunately had no new information about Valentine that was of any help.

But Alec was having trouble focusing on even that. Every night his sleep was plagued with images, nightmares of him fighting and attacking others. Always the same people, two men and a woman. In fact the latter always died because of him and always in the same, bloody way.

But that wasn’t the worst of his nightmares. Sometimes his sleep would be haunted by the images of him attacking Izzy, his own sister whilst a rage greater than he had ever felt ran through his body controlling all his actions.

What was happening to him? Was he finally breaking after all these years of being a shadowhunter? With each day that passed he was becoming more and more scared to even look at his sister incase the anger that controlled him in his dreams reared its ugly head.

Clumsily splashing cold water onto his face in the hopes it’d wake him, Alec found himself barely able to recognise the reflection in the mirror. He looked wild and unkempt, his thoughts mirroring his shabby, shaken appearance.

“I’m okay,” he whispered to his reflection, repeating the sentiment time and time again in the hopes it’d come true. “Everything’s okay, you’re in control, it’ll be fine.”

But as images of his blade running through a young brunette, torturing a man for so long his voice broke from the screaming and going to attack his own sister hit him harder than any punch Alec found himself questioning that sentiment.

What was going on with him? 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you all enjoyed! I didn’t mean for this chapter to be so much longer than the first but when I started writing about the other universe I found myself unable to stop. And I know this was sort of left on a bit of a cliffhanger but I just couldn’t resist, and the thought of being able to explore Alec’s psyche once more is too much of a temptation. 
> 
> So who knows if I’ll revisit this world again, but I’d certainly love to!
> 
> Please leave a comment if you this enjoyed this, it'd mean a lot

**Author's Note:**

> I hope the format/premise wasn't too complicated, basically anything in italics was something that had already happened in the parallel world, whilst normal font is in the now.  
> I promise the next chapter will provide answers!


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